There’s a new surfer in town. Sammy the seal pup loves nothing more than showing up for the dawn patrol on Pacific Beach, California, to surf with his friends.
The adorable Sammy’s escapades began in June when videographer Ed Hartel was out shooting drone footage at the popular surf spot. After swimming up to a surfer, the seal proceeded to climb up on her board. For the next two hours, says Mr Hartel, the playful seal swam up to different surfers, lifting himself up on their boards and resting on the nose, completely unafraid.
“He would just swim to a longboard and climb up, chill for about 10 minutes, then swim to a different board, over and over again,” Mr. Hartel told The Epoch Times.
The 47-year-old licensed professional drone pilot from San Diego spent the next week filming Sammy’s bold antics.
“On the fourth day,” Mr. Hartel said, “Sammy appeared to start taking surfing positions on the front of the surfers’ boards, almost like he was challenging them to surf with him.”
Before long, surfers were attempting to surf with Sammy in a banana pose on the nose. At times, he would drop his flippers into the water, appearing to paddle with the surfer.
“No surfers were able to get him up for very long, but he kept going board to board, attempting to catch waves,” Mr. Hartel said.
On the fifth day, Sammy showed up with a second seal that wouldn’t get up on boards but was more of an observer. “We all joked that it appears Sammy is starting his own surfing school,” Mr. Hartel said.
After Mr. Hartel posted the sweet antics of Sammy on Instagram, the clips went viral, resulting in lots of people showing up and attempting to take selfies with the adventure-loving pup. At that point, to discourage visitors, Mr. Hartel and the dawn patrol surfers took the decision not to film him any further.
Now that the footage has stopped coming out, the crowds looking for Sammy have subsided. Aside from the fact he ought to be safe from excessive attention, says Mr. Hartel, seal pups have sharp teeth.
“They can be aggressive,“ he said. ”If wildlife approaches you, even cute seals, remember that they are wild animals and unpredictable. Please don’t disturb them or touch and play with them, as they do bite.
“Sammy is special, but he’s also a protected animal—so please enjoy Mother Nature, but do not drive over from the next state to get a selfie with it. Respect nature.”
After Sammy’s initial delight at discovering the fun of surfing, he’s now reduced his sessions to 30 minutes or an hour. But he still shows up at different spots along the same beach, before and during sunrise, catching rides and hanging fin. Sometimes, he brings one or two other seals with him, and all are protected by the locals.
Everyone loves Sammy, and Sammy loves to surf. Some have commented that the reason he first climbed up on a board was because a shark was around, but Mr. Hartel kept checking during sessions with his drone, and none were present.
“I just think Sammy likes to surf and loves the crowd; he’s currently visiting in the morning,” Mr. Hartel said, adding that seeing his progression from the first two days to later in the week was special.
“Watching him learn to get on a longboard … then watching him ‘hang fin’ catching waves—just such an awesome story. Maybe in a previous life, Sammy could have been a longboarder.”
